Steam cooking apparatus and closure therefor



Feb. 16, 1932. MULLER ET AL 1,844,970

' STEAM COOKING APPARATUS AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed May 9. 1929 Inventor: Wm

apparatus and closures therefor,

Patented Feb. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KARL MfiLLER AND PAUL mom, or'scnmnmnne, GERMANY Application 'filed May 9, 1929,.5eria1 No.

\ STEAM COOKING APPARATUS AND CLOSURE THEREFOR This invention relates to steam cooking and consis s essentially in providing a reliable and effective pressure actuated 5 ture of the container of such apparatus,

closure for the aperaperture being preferably of oblong or elliptical conformation and formed by inward bending of the rim of the container in such a manner that the outer surface of said rim will be sloping, while the edge of said rim which forms the aperture of the container is essentially of flat conformation and not provided with any thickened parts, re-inforcements. or the like.

A futher object of our invention consists in so arranging said closure as well as the packing associated therewith gagement with both sides of the inwardlybent to come in enrim'of the container, so that the pressures exerted upon said rim will fully counteract each other, thus doing away with all kinds of one-sided mechanical strains which would otherwise be imposed upon the container or the rim portions thereof.

A still fur ther obj ect of our invention consists in providing a two-part closure and a common pressure organ for actuating both parts of the closure to come in engagement with opposite surfaces of the inwardly bent rim of the c ontainer, in such a manner that both parts of the closure will be simultaneously brought into and out of tightening en; gagement with said rim on the outer and inner peripheral surface portions thereof.

A further feature of our invention consists in employing a pressure lever as actuating organ for both parts of the closure, said pressure lever bei 'ng mounted on the inner part of the closure in such a manner that the outer and inner part of the closure may be pressed against the outer and inner surfaces of the inwardly bent rim of the container to firmly engage with said rim on both sides thereof.

Further features of our invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings,

which show two preferred forms of'closures constructed according to our invention.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is .a vertical section, partly in view, of a steam cooking apparatus equipped with a closure constructed accordsaid 861,810, and in Germany May 11, 1928.

drawings, the cylindrical container a is pro- 'vided with an oblong, preferably elliptical,

aperture ada ted for the reception of the closure. Accor ing to our invention the closure consists'of two main parts, viz: an upper or outer cover 7) and an under or inner cover 0, a

packing a? being interposed intermediate said two parts ofthe closure. A guide-rod f is fixed to the under cover 0 and projects through a bore provided centrally on said upper cover. This guide-rod may also be constructed in the form of a tube and a safety-valve or the like may be provided in said tube to protect the apparatus against excessive pres-.

sures.

The pressure lever h, 2' isfulcrumed by means of a bolt 9 to the guide-rod or tube and the end 2' of said lever is preferably provided with a handle 70. By means of the lever 7i,-i a pressure may be exerted either directly upon the upper cover Z) or by the intermediary'of a pressure disk or washer Z or the like which is seated on said upper cover. The lever h, 2' as may be seen particularly from Fig. 3, is of the form of a point with projecting flanges m and which fork which is provided around its fulcrum engage from below withbent pins and 91 fixed to the upper part b of the closure,

A safety-valve 10 may be provided in the usual manner on the under cover, said safetyvalve being either of the simple acting or inultipleacting type andpassing through a bore provided in the upper cover 72, The

rim of the aperture of the container may further be equippedwith one or more pins or stops 1' and 7' which engage with recesses ill s and 8 provided on the upper cover I) and eventually also on the under cover 0.

After filling the container, the closure which is composed of the two covers I) and 0 hinged to the forked pressure lever h, i with the handle in thereon is introduced transversely into the oblong or elliptical aperture of the container (1. During so introducing the closure into the container, the upper cover b will be supported by means of the pins n and n engaging with the curved flanges m and m at a proper distance from the under cover a permitting to introduce the inwardly steam cooking apparatus is now in condition ready for use and the safety valve will indicate in the usual manner all irregularities which may arise during the process ofv cooking. In order to remove the closure from the container. the aforedescribed manipulations will present an outer sloping surface.

The advantages of the closure constructed according to our invention consist in the first place therein that owing to the use of a twopart closure and the pressure-lever herein described a pressure may be exerted in central direction-to said closure to provide for the necessary tightening all around the edge of the aperture of the container and to cause the ti htening ressure to be most favorably dis tnbuted a over the inwardly bent rim of the container.

"The curved flanges m m provided on the pressure lever to co-operate with the bent pinsn and 'n, will further have the efl'ect that during opening of the closure there will at once be present the proper distance between the upper and under cover, to permit easy introduction and removal of the closure, without entangling with the contents of the container. o It may especially be noted that on account of the resiliency of the two covers there will be required only a small effort for actuating and releasing the pressure lever so that springs, guide rollers orthe like on said lever may be entirely dispensed with.

In some cases it may be preferable to use a (21$ of relatively small width instead of the outer cover I), said clip engaging preferably with the rim of the oblong aperture of the container in the direction of its smaller diameter. In this case during closing the container the pressure lever engages with said clip. This clip, moreover, may be of plane or arched conformation. According to our invention the last-mentioned form of construction which is connected with advantages, both as regards the manufacture of the apparatus as well as re gards its manipulation, may further be improved by the provision of guide meanswhereby said clip may be secured rectangularly to the pressure lever and in proper position with respect to the inner cover, said guide means consisting preferably of pins '11 or the like. A construction of this kind is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. According to Figs l and 5 the cylindrical container a is provided with an aperture preferably of eliptical form which aperture is covered up by the closure. The closure in the present case is composed of a full cover 0 adapted to come in engagement all around with the inwardly bent rim of the container, and a clip-shaped upper member a which as 'shown in the drawings is of slightly arched conformation and engages with the elliptical aperture of the container only in the direction of the smaller diameter of said aperture. The lever Z may be brought into engagement with the clip 2 by the intermediary of the pin f and in order to secure the clip am a position perpendicular to the direction of the lever, special guides v are connected to the under cover a to permit resilient motion of the clip 2 in perpendicular direction and to prevent rotation around the axis of the container.

We claim: I

1. A closure for steam cooking apparatus having a container with an inwardly bent and outwardly sloping'rim which forms an oblong or elliptical aperture for said container, said closure consisting of an inner and outer cover, said innerand outer cover adapted to come into closing engagement with said rim on the inner and outer marginal surface,

portions. thereof, respectively, a pressure lever fulcrumed to said inner cover by'the intermediary of a supportin member which is centrally fixed on said inner cover and passing through a central bore in said outer cover, said pressure lever having a pressure surface 7 through an opening on the post arranged for coactin with the outer member to put both of said members under constraint and cause them to grip the rim tightly between them, and guide means on by a rim, a closure for the aperture cooperating with the rim, consisting of inner and outer members adapted to engage opposite sides of the rim, a post on the inner member projecting upwardly through and freely working in the outer member, a swingable pressure lever on the post above the outer member, and connections between the lever and outer member adapted, on

swinging the lever in one direction, to put both of said members under constraint against the rim, said connections comprising an eccentric part on the lever and a pin on the outer member engaging said eccentric part.

4. A cooking apparatus comprising, with a container, having an aperture surrounded by a rim, a closure for the aperture cooperating with the rim, consisting of inner and outer members adapted to engage opposite sides of the rim, the inner member having an upright post projecting upwardly through and freely working through an opening in the outer member, a pressure lever fulcrumed to the post and provided with flanges positioned eccentrically to the fulcrum point of said lever, and suspension means fixed on the outer memher and overlapping said flanges, said suspension means. permitting" said outer member to be suspended at a proper distance from the inner member, when introducing said closure into the aperture of the container.

5. A cooking apparatus comprising, with a container having an aperture surrounded by a rim, a closure for the aperture cooper- ,ting with the rim, consisting of inner and outer members adapted to engage opposite sides of the rim, the inner member having an upright post projecting upwardly through and freely working through an opening in the outer member, a pressure lever provided with a forked end fulcrumed to the post, two

I laterally projecting flanges provided on the forked end of said pressure lever eccentrically to the fulcrum point thereof, and a pair of bent pins fixed on said outer member and adapted to come into engagement with the interior surface of said flanges for the purpose of keeping said inner and outer members at a proper distance from each other during introduction of said closure into the aperture of the container.

6. A cooking apparatus comprising, with a container having ail-aperture surrounded by a rim, a closure for the aperture cooperating with the rim, consisting of inner an 65 outer members adapted to engage opposite sides of the rim, the inner member having an upright ostprojecting upwardly through and opening in the outer member, a pressure lever provided with a forked end fulcrumed to the post, the forked having pressure surfaces eccentrically to the fulcrum point, laterally projecting flanges on said pressure surfaces, and a pair of bent pins fixed on said outer member and adapted to engage with the interior surfaces of said flanges so as to permit said outer member to be kept in suspended condition by means of said flanges and said pins at a proper distance from said 'nner member in the inoperative condition of said pressure lever.

7. A cooking apparatus comprising, with a container having an aperture surrounded by a rim, a closure for the aperture cooperating with the rim, consisting of inner and outer members adapted to engage opposite sides of the rim, the inner member having an upright post projecting upwardly through and freely working through an opening in the outer member, a pressure lever having a forked end fulcrumed to the post, a pair of pressure surfaces on the forked end of said lever, said ressure surfaces being positioned eccentrical y around the fulcrum point of said lever and adapted to come into pressure engagement with said outer member in the operative condition of said pressure lever and thus to press said outer member against said inner member with the rim of the container interposed therebetween, flanges laterally projecting from said pressure surfaces, and a pair of bent pins fixed on said outer member and overlapping said flanges for maintaining a proper distance between said inner and outer members to receive the rim of the container, when introducing said closure in the aperture of the container.

8. A cooking apparatus comprising, with V a container having an aperture surrounded by a rim, a closure for the aperture cooperatingwiththerim,consisting of inner and outer members adapted to engage opposite sides of the rim, the inner member having an upright post projecting upwardly through and free- 1y working through an opening in the outer member, a swingable pressure lever on the for coacting with the outer member to put both of said members under constraint and cause them to grip the rim tightly between them, guide members provided intermediate the inner member and outer member, said outer member being of clip-shaped form, mitting between said inner member and said clip-shaped member a motion necessary for engagement with and dis-engagement from the rim of the container, said guide members beingfurther adapted to prevent rotation between said inner member and said outer clip-shaped member.

post arranged reely working through an end of said pressure lever said guide members per- 9. A cooking apparatus comprising, with a container having an aperture surrounded by a rim, a closure for the aperture cooperating with the rim, consisting of inner and outer members adapted to engage opposite sides of the rim, the inner member having an upright post projecting upwardly through and freely working through an opening in the outer member, a swingable pressure lever on the post arranged for co-' acting with the outer member to put both of said members under constraint and cause them to grip the rim tightly between them, guide pins fixed on the inner member and extending through bores in the outer memher, said outer member being of clip-shaped form to permit between said inner member and outer member a motion necessary for engagement with and dis-engagement from the rim of the container, said guide pins being further adapted to maintain a pre-determined relative position between said inner member and said outer clip-shaped member.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

KARL MULLER. PAUL ARNOLD. 

